Demon of the Skies [Book 1]

Brothers

"Betray a friend, and you'll often find you have ruined yourself."
~Aesop
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Chapter 26: Brothers

Interview #12

The Little Brother

Magnolia Springs, Osea

16 November 2005

I pulled up in front of a quaint cottage residing on the coastline of Oured Bay. Few other houses could be seen. Knowing what I did about this man, he definitely deserved to live a quiet, peaceful life.

Grabbing my recorder, I began speaking into it. "Patrick James Beckett, affectionately known as 'PJ' to his comrades. Galm Team's number two in their later missions, and member of the Ustio Air Force, 6th Air Division, 66th Air Force Unit. This man was the Demon Lord's wingman and best friend, and quickly turned into a feared fighter pilot."

I grabbed my camera and stepped out of my car. I walked up to the front porch and raised my hand to knock when voices floated from the backyard. Curious, I followed a set of stone steps in the directions of the sounds, and I found the man I was looking for, sitting with his wife.

They both waved at me and motioned for me to sit down with them. The man smiled and said, "Hey, I'm PJ. Are you Brett?"

"Yes, sir. It's an honor to meet you!" I exclaimed, shaking his hand, and trying to contain my excitement. Other than Pixy, this was the closest I had come yet to meeting a brother of the Demon Lord. The stories and information this man could give me excited me almost as much as the ones Pixy could.

Almost.

"It's an honor to meet you too! You're the only person I've ever known that's tried finding out about the Demon Lord. He's shrouded in mystery for a reason you, know," PJ said. "Full disclosure, I am bound to secrecy about a few things.'

"I understand. You and Pixy are the only ones who know his true identity, correct?"

"Yes. It's a closely guarded secret. He went through a lot to get to safety, and he went through a lot to keep his family safe. If it weren't for him, Pixy and I would both be dead."

"Is he still alive? The Demon Lord?" I asked, hopeful my wishful answer would be correct.

PJ hesitated. "No. The man who was the Demon Lord died that day, I think. He lost Pixy, he lost Janie, and he had to give up so much of his life the day of that last battle despite winning it. The world was safe because of his actions, but he wasn't. I haven't talked to him in years. We've kept it that way for safety reasons because we don't trust people not to try and track him through me."

"How have you kept him hidden so long? I'm not trying to figure out a way to find him, especially knowing he's gone to such great lengths to keep hidden. It's just..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words without sounding treasonous or giving the wrong person the wrong idea. "I know every military around the world has digitized files of all their personnel. Hasn't someone tried hacking into the system to find out?"

"Oh, definitely. I'm still kept in the loop about certain things, at least pertaining to the Demon Lord. They tell me when someone's tried searching for him. I actually found out about you before you found out about me," PJ said. "But no one is going to find anything about him in any military system. His files have been obliterated. Nothing about him exists anymore except through the people who fought alongside him and against him."

"His callsign was Cipher, was it not?"

"It was. Ironic, if you think about it. Cipher means hidden code. That's all Cipher was to everyone around him: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Whenever you thought you finally knew him, he changed or did something that you least expected." PJ glanced out over the bay, clenching his jaw. "It's why he was so difficult to defeat in battle. It's why he'll never be found until he wants to be."